But the opposition has accused authorities of massive vote irregularities and said it will not recognize the outcome of the elections. It has also called for street protests later this week.

Commission spokesman Iqbal Babayev announced the results at a news briefing. "According to the data we have already received, we are able to announce the preliminary results. The ruling party is in the lead, followed by independent candidates," Babayev said.

The election commission says that, with results from 85 percent of polling stations counted, President Ilham Aliyev's party has won 62 of the 125 seats in parliament.

The YAP has 75 percent seats in the outgoing legislature.

The election commission says fewer than half of Azerbaijan's registered voters took part in the polls.

According to Azerbaijan's electoral law, the vote can be validated regardless of the turnout.

There are 4.7 million registered voters in the country, and the election was the third since the country gained independence in 1991. Voters had to choose among some 1,500 candidates vying for seats in the 125-member National Assembly, or Milli Mejlis.

Opposition Complaints

But the opposition has already rejected the final outcome of the vote.

Addressing reporters just three hours after the closure of Azerbaijan's polling stations, opposition leader Ali Kerimli said the vote did not reflect the will of the Azerbaijani people.

Kerimli chairs the reformist wing of Azerbaijan's Popular Front, one of the three parties that make up the Azadliq (Freedom) opposition coalition. The two other parties are Musavat and the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan.

Musavat leader Isa Qambar also said his party would not recognize the outcome of the vote and would struggle "to the end" to obtain justice.

"As we had predicted, unfortunately, this election was completely falsified. Tonight and [on 7 November], we will summarize this data and clarify our tactics and slogans," Qambar said.

Possible Protests

Kerimli said Azadliq would fight "peacefully" to have the results of the polls overturned.

Earlier in the day, he had said that, in the event of massive fraud, Azadliq would organize a protest march tomorrow in central Baku. He had also said that the opposition was committed to fight for its rights within the constitutional framework.

"We will defend the rights of the voters through all the constitutional means that exist under the law. I can tell you right now that all our protests will have an exclusively peaceful character. We will not give the authorities any excuse to use force against the people," Kerimli said.

Addressing reporters at a news briefing, Azadliq election-campaign head Panah Huseyn claimed that, already by midday yesterday, nearly 6,000 violations had been registered.

Huseyn said election workers at some polling stations were marking voters' fingers with washable, rather than indelible, ink. He also reported alleged cases when opposition election observers were denied access to polling stations.

Other Azadliq leaders have pointed to numerous vote irregularities, citing unconfirmed reports that some of their representatives in regional election commissions had been detained.

YAP leaders, in turn, accused Azadliq of violating election laws in at least 10 electoral constituencies. They did not elaborate on the nature of these alleged violations.

None of these claims could be independently confirmed.

Officials Reject Early Complaints

RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports that, after prompting from the five representatives of the opposition in the 15-member election commission, the commission held an emergency meeting yesterday to assess the extent of the alleged fraud.

Addressing reporters after the meeting, commission Chairman Mazahir Panahov, however, rejected allegations that the vote was rigged.

"Generally speaking, the election took place in a democratic atmosphere. What it means is that our voters had a chance to go to their polling stations in every single constituency and vote for the candidate they deemed necessary to support," Panahov said.

International Monitors

Some 1,600 foreign and 17,000 Azerbaijani election observers monitored the polls. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which has a 540-strong election observation mission in Azerbaijan, is expected to give its preliminary assessment this afternoon.

YAP Secretary-General Ali Ahmadov today denied accusations that the vote had been rigged in favor of pro-government candidates.

He also blamed the opposition for challenging the outcome of the polls even before the first results were made public.

"Some opposition party leaders, even prior to the announcement of the official results of the vote, said that the election was falsified and, based on this statement, said they had decided to hold protest actions beginning 8 November. I must say that by making such statements they did nothing but acknowledging their defeat in the parliamentary elections," Ahmadov said.

Findings of an exit poll conducted by two U.S.-based companies, Mitofsky International and Edison Media Research, yesterday showed that YAP would retain a reduced majority of 56 seats in the legislature. The two companies said the exit poll was conducted in all but one of Azerbaijan's 125 electoral constituencies.

Another exit poll, conducted by PA Consulting Group on behalf of USAID and the U.S. State Department in 65 constituencies, indicated a similar trend.

Early findings from the PA Consulting Group poll made available today suggested that YAP candidates had won a majority of votes in 18 constituencies. By comparison, the poll indicated that Azadliq and independent candidates were leading in 12 and 10 constituencies, respectively. Results for the remaining 19 constituencies were not immediately available.

Both the opposition and the pro-government party have questioned the objectivity of these exit polls, alleging they could be biased in favor of the rival camp.

No violence was reported during the vote.

Late yesterday, reports said police had gathered outside the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan (ADP) where Azadliq leaders were meeting.

RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service says security officers were checking all cars driving nearby but were not blocking access to the ADP headquarters.

Source: RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty